Rubble
"Rubble" is a Season 4 thread written March 21, 2015. It branches off from "Run from Direction" and leads into "New Chaos." Summary Full Text Part 1 Gareth Ragnar Haddock the Second: '“King Haddock!” He noticed Grey running up, panting. “One part of the fortress collapsed and trapped a number of people inside! I think with a few more hands we can get them out, but I can’t do it by myelf.” “Stonegit, keep people leaving. I’ll do this quickly.” Belatedly Haddock realized he could have asked other guards to do the task… but at the same time… he felt the urge to do this himself. ''Last one leaving this mess. He did not look to see if Stonegit followed his orders or followed him; he just took off after Lady Grey. “Okay, where is it?” Grey charged toward the fortress, and Haddock followed. They rushed past a number of fleeing people, some launching away on dragons, others screaming past on foot. The place Grey led him to, though, was a more out-of-the-way nook, though he could hear the shouts of worried rebels coming from inside a blocked entrance, rubble blocking the door. “Alright! We need to be careful or all of this is going to collapse more,” the king said, reaching for some of the top ice shards and throwing them aside. “Or maybe,” said Grey’s voice, “''you'' should be careful.” And she changed forms, face wavering. As she changed, the shouts of people trapped in the fortress disappeared. There was nobody there but them. Haddock’s eyes widened at the man before him. 'Grey Bergman: '''In the midst of the evacuation, Grey managed to catch a glimpse of Haddock following someone back into the fortress. Was he crazy? Why was he going back inside? She wasted no time and ran after them. However, as she was running after them, she could see that King Haddock was following…a young woman…with brown hair…wearing her clothes… No, it couldn’t be… “No…” she said. She quickly ran as fast as she could. She tried to keep up, but the pair was too fast. Thankfully, they finally stopped in a nook. She could hear people shouting, but she didn’t care. All she was focused on was Haddock and…the no good trickster. She watched as the form changed in front of Haddock. Anger ran through her body, and she took off and jumped onto the Loki’s back with her arm around his neck. “Well, Loki, looks like we meet again!” she shouted. '''Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: '''Stonegit skidded to a stop, seeing the sight for himself. Right after Haddock had given him that last order, Stonegit was quick to have a group of guards do it for him instead. They would cover more ground than him anyway. “Good Hel…” Stonegit breathed, slowly lifting his ax. “What is this?” '''Loki Laufeyson: '''Loki shrugged off Grey with a single roll of his shoulders, not at all concerned she was trying to choke him. His entire body… rippled… almost as though he became without substance for a moment, causing Grey to fall to the ground. “Hm, really now, really, you think that would do anything?” He seemed only half-interested in her and Stonegit, no mind their hostility. For that matter, he seemed only half-interested in Haddock, too. He gazed at them all with a calculating eye, pulled up a wide, bright grin, took a few swaggering strides forward, and said, “Loki, God of Mischief, hm, hm, if you didn’t know.” Loki inclined his head in a mock-regal fashion toward Haddock. “Beautiful weather, eh? Stormy skies with a high chance of death? “Do you know why you’re being attacked? It’s because your poor goddes Hel can’t do anything. Really, that teensy weensy little girl got herself in trouble and a time out, I would say.” He leaned in, eyes glittering at all three of them. With way too much happiness, he declared, “You’re - in - troooouuuuuble.” '''Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: '“We’re being attacked because Orskaf found a loop hole, he bucked your system!” Stonegit snapped. He turned to Haddock. “This god can’t hurt us yet,” he flinched as a wall was torn down. “Ignore him, we’re still in danger!” 'Loki Laufeyson: '"Yes, in danger indeed, hm?” Loki said. “And what’s to say I can’t keep you here while the walls do collapse in on you? That’s not me ''harming you. Oh my! More loopholes. Squishy people, you’re rather squishy, and you’ll all be as squishy as you can be unless you, ehhh, listen to me very closely. How’s that?” '''Grey Bergman: '“Depends, buster,” she said smirking at the God of Mischief as she stood up next to Stonegit and Haddock. “If I recall correctly, the last time you made us listen to you…you kidnapped us and threw us in a pit. How do we know you won’t try anything like that this time?” 'Loki Laufeyson: '“A God of Chaos never does the same thing twice. I love…” he waved his arms gallantly “…unpredictability!” 'Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: '''Another huge stone fell at their feet. “No time for this!” Stonegit said, positioning himself over Haddock and glaring at Loki. “What do you want?” '''Loki Laufeyson: '“I want all of you to listen closely to me. I can have all your lives whiff out like a candle without breaking the rules of Ragnarok. And I’ll do it, hm, unless you do something for me.” “And what would that be?” Haddock asked, suspicious. “Oh, it’s really quite favorable for all of us, I think. And I’m right, I know,” Loki intoned. “I don’t kill you, and I’ll take you to a nice, safe place where Ragnarok won’t happen. You’ve sworn yourself to Hel, and I can’t do nothing about that… but I can make sure none of you have to drop a single smack of blood. Word of a god.” He shrugged proudly. 'Grey Bergman: '''The Lady glared at the God. She then turned to Haddock, who clearly looked like he was considering this offer. It did sound tempting, but…to back out of the war because Loki made them…that just rubbed her the wrong way. “Sir, this has to be some kind of trick,” she said. “He clearly wants us out of the way for Ragnorak. That’s all he wants! That’s why he kidnapped us to begin with!” '''Hel: '''Loki had no time to respond, when yet again, a black tendril wrapped around his neck, and yanked him out of the room. They could see his form get flung over the mountain range in the distance. Stonegit stared and blinked in some surprise, and then inhaled. “Ok then,” he said. “We should probably go!” Outside. Hel faced her father again, panting heavily. She was bumped, bruised, and messy. ''“Daddy!” ''she yelled down at him. ''“Don’t you EVER throw me in a pit of tricks again! Do you know what it’s like going down a tunnel thinking you smell fresh air and end up running into a dormant volcano?! You bastard! And what is this!? My babies are being attacked! Seriously what the fuck? I’m not fighting Gramps for a few days yet! Why is there violence?!”''her teeth gritted together. ''“And you! You were trying to get me out of the way! Damnit daddy I was trying to help you!” '' '''Loki Laufeyson: '“Help? Help me? Oh, dear honey, don’t like to Pops.” Loki spread his hands innocently. “I had everything under control. I was talking to your precious peeps to make sure they’d be safe and out of the way, and then you just had to interfere, hm?” '''Hel: ''“Buuuuuuuull shit!”'' Hel said. “Dad you never do anything nice for me without it helping you somehow! And it’s Ragnorok you dunce there is no place on earth that is safe! All uncle sparky would have to do is throw his hammer in there and the whole thing would collapse! Besides that, they would STARVE!” ''Hel heaved a huge sigh. ''“You just wanted an edge…at least respect me enough to admit that.” ''her shoulders relaxed. “Look…I gotta go, there is a suffering soul over there…and I need to what’s right by it.” '' Loki Laufeyson: '“Wow, Giggles, you’re the little human hero now? The savior of the world? Even more than ‘Uncle Sparks’?” ' ' '''Hel: '''Hel’s bitch mode quickly reactivated. “Oh don’t be silly,”'' she huffed. “I’m still going to use them to whip Odin’s ass. I just don’t want them dead that’s all, they are more useful like this.” She glanced at him, he could tell was saving face, but he could also tell that she was far from soft. “So good day to you…dad.” with that, she sunk into the ground. 'Loki Laufeyson: '“Wow, really, eh, don’t want them dead, hon? You’re the goddess of dead, hm.” Loki glared at the ground, then stormed away. “You won’t find me so easy to play with next time, little girl.” His voice was low and dangerous, and his eye flickered with something deadly. “Not even the goddesses shall leave Ragnarok unscathed.” ' Part 2 '''Gareth Ragnar Haddock the Second: '''Stonegit, Haddock, and Grey had no time to react once Loki was whisked away. Hoards of stone and ice came raining down on them. Haddock threw himself to the ground, cringing as the world roared, massive ice blocks slamming down. The world shook beneath him, and everything in his vision blurred… all was color and falling objects and debris and… He heard a shout. A cry. Stonegit? He thought he saw something fall. And then at once he felt a sudden FORCE on his head, a chunk of ''something slamming into him. The shower subsided. But vision swam. All turned black and white, and then his hand before him spiraled, twirling like a whirlpool, and the world beyond him danced in strange fluid geometries. He groaned, blinking, trying to focus and righten his vision. The world shook, his mind fuzzing. Can’t… think… Grey Bergman: 'Grey screamed as the rubble rained down on her, Haddock, and Stonegit. It all happened too fast, but she could’ve sworn she felt someone push her to the ground laying on top of her. She covered her head as best as she could burying herself under whoever was on top of her. It was only a matter of minutes…perhaps seconds before the rumbling finally stopped. She breathed heavily as she poked her head out of her arms. She looked around. The fallen debris trapped them in a cramped space in the nook…completely dark…just like the pit. She quickly shook it off. No, Grey, focus…focus…no panicking….'' “Your Majesty…Stonegit…” she said in the midst of a coughing fit trying to pick herself up, “you guys okay?” 'Gareth Ragnar Haddock the Second: '''She heard a groan from the king. Haddock pulled himself onto his knees, holding the side of his head. '''Grey Bergman: '''Grey quickly turned to see Haddock kneeling and holding his head. She sighed in relief. King Haddock was alright! “Sir, are you hurt?” she said pulling herself up to her knees and gently placing a hand on his shoulder scanning him for any injuries she might be able to make out in the dark. ' ' '''Gareth Ragnar Haddock the Second: '“Mm fine,” he mumbled, though his voice sounded slightly distant. He tensed. “Stonegit?” 'Grey Bergman: '“I’m going to check on him,” she said moving toward the bodyguard. She realized that Stonegit hadn’t said a word since they came to. “Stonegit…Stonegit?” she gently shook the boy’s shoulder. “Stonegit, can you hear me? Time to wake up, bud. Stonegit…?” Her eyes widened. “Oh no…” She quickly turned Stonegit over on his back as best she could and placed an ear on his chest. ' ' 'Gareth Ragnar Haddock the Second: '“Hel… no…” Haddock groaned. '''Grey Bergman: '''She breathed a sigh of relief when she was able to make out a few heartbeats. “It’s alright, Sir,” she said. “He’s unconscious, but he should be okay.” '''Gareth Ragnar Haddock the Second: '''Haddock’s sigh of relief followed immediately after Grey. “Let’s get going,” he growled then, trying to pull himself to his feet. He staggered, caught himself, and groaned. '''Grey Bergman: '''She was about to try to pick Stonegit up when she heard the King groaning behind her. She turned around and saw him staggering. “Sir, are you sure you’re okay?” she said placing a hand on his shoulder. ' '''Gareth Ragnar Haddock the Second: '“Knocked in the head,” he said, squinting, vision still swirling in confusing patterns. “Can’t see straight. A little dazed.” Grey Bergman: '''"Thor-dammit," she said to herself hoping the King didn’t hear her. She took a moment to think telling herself to focus. They were trapped in a collapsed fortress. Stonegit was unconscious, and now King Haddock had a blow to the head and could barely see straight. She was the only one fully functional. So it was clearly up to her to get them out. She finally had an idea. "Alright, here’s what we’ll do," she began as she bent down to Stonegit maneuvering him so he was on her back, "I’ll carry Stonegit like this, and you can lean on me. I’m sure we can find a way out." ' '''Gareth Ragnar Haddock the Second: '“That’s not going to be too much on you?” the king asked, even as he reached for Grey’s shoulder to steady himself.' ' Grey Bergman: '''"It shouldn’t be. Don’t worry," she said trying her best to keep Stonegit from sliding off her back, "and even if it was, we don’t have much of a choice. He’s unconscious, and you said yourself you can’t see straight. I don’t want you to push yourself anymore than you have to." ' '''Gareth Ragnar Haddock the Second: '“Okay.” Haddock nodded, then immediately groaned again, vision swirling nearly to black. “Let’s try this. Can you… see a way out?” 'Grey Bergman: 'Grey scanned the remains of the hallway in the fortress trying to see if there’s any light shining through, but all she could see was darkness and rumble. Just like the pit…she felt herself growing tense. She tried to breathe to calm herself down telling herself to stay focused. She was about to answer Haddock’s question when suddenly she heard something and saw something glowing…below them. It was a portal! "As a matter of fact, I do," she said happily. "It’s one of Akkey’s portals! She must’ve-AHHHH!" Before she could say anything more, the portal opened up below their feet taking them all down into its vortex. 'Gareth Ragnar Haddock the Second: 'Haddock, shocked, was pulled in just a moment later. His vision left him completely as they spun through the void, and a moment later, when he felt that… things… might… have stopped spinning, he felt something wet by his feet. “Where are we?” Category:Season 4 Category:Events